India's tally of new UK COVID-19 strain reaches 109

After the new strain of COVID-19 was detected in the UK, the government imposed a ban on flights coming to India from the country from December 22 last year.

This ban has been lifted but passengers arriving will have to undergo an RT-PCR test both in the UK before boarding their flight and after arriving in India.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to ensure early action in containing the new strain of the coronavirus, SpiceHealth has tied-up with CSIR-IGIB (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) to set up a portable testing laboratory for genome sequencing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport for all positive samples from international travellers, according to a statement from SpiceHealth.

"Sequencing at the airport is expected to significantly minimize the time to necessary action. CSIR's experience using portable sequencers suggests that it is possible to identify variants within 48 hours of a person arriving in India and testing positive," the statement added.